A Dark and Stormy Night (Sequel 2)
by Genji
Summary: The third in what appears to be a four part series. Once again, our intrepid hero, Duo, narrates. Warnings: the usual language and weirdness.


Title: With Both Feet (sequel to Over the River)br   
Part: 1/1br  
Date: 1 December 2000br  
Author: Genji (genji_15@excite.com) br  
Status: Final br  
Archive: If you would like it, just don't steal it...an' LMK first, so I can say where it is..br  
Category: ficletbr  
Rating: PG br  
Pairings: nonebr  
Warnings: language, weirdness, OOC (definitely OOC on some characters...but if you differ, LMK. It's 2:00 and I'm not sure if I exist anymore. Evil pondering of Descartes... )br  
Feedback: If you so desire.br  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the boys or ideas...I just happen to be a poor fic writer. Don't sue.br  
Notes: I am very proud to say that this fic does not contain any references to The Odyssey, like the preceding two ficlets. I think that's because we've finally finished it, and unless you want to read into the characters actions like Quatre being Kalypso, I think you're pretty safe.br  
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//Never test the depth of the water with both feet.// My conscience warns me, but I ignore it, like a fool. I finish my shower, and Heero appears to be gone on a mission. As I walk into our room (only Wufie gets his own bedroom, claiming that Nataku would not approve. Quatre decided to humor the poor boy, driven to the point of insanity where he thinks that his mobile suit is alive. Well, I'm not one to talk...Deathscythe's feelings might get hurt), I notice that Heero's laptop was there, beckoning on the desk. Deciding to pay him back for his indifference, and, perhaps, help Relena in her quest to drive this guy certifiably insane, I race to my bureau, and dig through the clothes searching for that precious disk. I panic when I can't find it, pulling all my pockets inside out. It's not there. br  
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I walk into the common room. Wufei's there, tapping at his laptop and growling. I don't pay much attention to him, and ask the reclined Quatre, "Have you seen a green disk around here?"br  
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From the background, Wufei shouts, "I SAID you were to go to the RIGHT! NO! That's TOO far! Are you stupid or something? I swear, some ONNA created you!"br  
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I look at Quatre for a minute, "Don't tell me, he's named his laptop."br  
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The Arabian laughs, "No, but he seems to have found something interesting to do. I don't have the heart to tell him to shut up, he seems to be having so much *fun* for a change."br  
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Curious, I walk over and peer of the Wu-man's shoulder. Colored blocks are falling from the top of the screen and Wufie's trying to get the different shaped blocks to line up in a row.br  
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"Hey! That's my disk you got it from!"br  
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Wufei hits pause and turns, "You created this?!?"br  
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"Naw, it's Tetris, Wufie. Haven't you heard of low-tech entertainment? Doesn't take up more than 1 MB on a disk, so it's portable. I've been looking for it. Where the hell'd you find it?"br  
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The boy smirks, and says, "You really should empty your pockets before you try and launder them. You really are lucky that the washer jammed, again. That weak machine should have been put out of its misery ages ago, and yet some idiot maintains that he can fix it..." he glares steadily at me. Sure, I had promised to try my hand at it, but I've sorta been busy for two weeks, if he didn't remember. But I don't want to get him started; he's asking me for a reason to get started. I know that look. br  
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"Come on, man, give me back my disk."br  
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"No. Let me finish."br  
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"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeee, Wu-man? PLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE? Render unto Shinigami, that which is Shinigami's, but render unto Duo that which is Duo's."br  
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Smart-aleck Quatre pipes up, "But aren't Shinigami and Duo Maxwell one and the same?"br  
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I roll my eyes. Some people. I inch forward to the disk drive, and snake my hand so that it rests next to it, the next second I'm running, diskette clasped tightly to my chest. Behind me, a string of Chinese curses resound and Wufei's footfalls chasing after me. I laugh, and duck behind the door, and slam it shut, wedging a chair under the handle. br  
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"You can't stay there forever, Maxwell! You weakling! Come out and fight! Face the one and only true form of Justice! You will live to regret this, coward! Come out now and I'll only beat you within an inch of death, and not all the way..."br  
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I laugh, "I'd like to see you try, Wu-man! I might not be as good as you at them watchamacallits, martial arts thingies, but I still can fight."br  
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More oaths. But I ignore him. I'm used to it. Reverently, I wait as Heero's beloved computer boots up. The opening page has a dull background, the toneless gray that comes with every new computer. I insert the disk, and giggle. Wufei's going to have a pretty picture on his hard drive when he restarts his. True, it wasn't exactly meant for him, but it's his own fault for snooping. Quickly I ply my hand at this tried and true game. It's been a while since I played, but I've reconstructed it fairly well, I must say. It's a true piece of art, my finest bit of programming yet. I lose myself in the mind-bending puzzle in front of me. Then the door splinters open. br  
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Damn! There's only one person who would actually do that, an' it ain't Wufie. I quickly try to hide what I've been doing by folding down the screen. An icy voice whispers in my ear, "Just what the *fuck* do you think you are doing?"br  
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Oh shit! This is bad; this is very bad! Heero never swears, at least not in English unless someone's going to get hurt very seriously very soon. I swallow, and try to speak. My tongue fumbles for words for a short while...br  
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"Well, excuse me! My laptop wasn't working an' Wufei was busy on his, so I thought I'd use yours. It's not like you were even using it." Heero places his hand around the back of the neck, applying an uncomfortable pressure. He yanks on my braid so that I can see my own desk, littered with papers and in complete disarray. On top of it all lies a cord.br  
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"Did you try plugging it in?"br  
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"Um....no?"br  
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"What was so important that it couldn't be done on your own? Open it." He tightens the pressure around the muscles that border my spine, constricting the blood vessels. I think I'm going to faint. Hesitantly, I unfold the screen. Heero makes a guttural noise; eyes quickly taking in the falling puzzle pieces. He intensifies his death grip, and I fall into unconsciousness. Stupid bodily need for blood to the brain. br  
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I wake up with a killer headache. Heero's happily at his laptop, growling contentedly, or at least I think he's growling contentedly, he could just be growling. I knew a cat like that, he'd purr and purr and then he'd scratch you. As I sit up, the first thing I notice is that I'm still alive. If Heero had restarted that computer and found that, well, um, gift, I don't think he'd've bothered to put me on a mattress. I'd be laying in some unmarked grave by now. I gotta get away. However, it's too late. Wufei's ranting. br  
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"How did an onna replace that picture of Nataku I had on my desktop? INJUSTICE! INJUSTICE! Who was the traitor that dared subject me to such material? I will kill them! I will KILL them!"br  
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"Wufei." Quatre's voice, calm and patient, trying to defuse the bomb. However, it doesn't help that Trowa remarks, "Wufei, I never knew you had feelings for Relena."br  
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"I don't! Come here and fight like a man! Quatre, let me go! How dare he dishonor me in that sense! How *dare* he! I'm going to kill you, Barton!"br  
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I get up, half grinning, and half wondering at what kind of reception I'll get when I meet the irate Asian teen. Trowa's in the corner, coolly watching as Wufei strains against Quatre, who is holding Wufei's wrists behind his back and trying to resist the gradual movement forward as Wufei drags him across the room. br  
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I turn back into my room, wondering why Heero hasn't at least tried to strangle me yet. I creep up behind me, and he alt-tabs to a mission report he's supposed to be typing up, but not fast enough. br  
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"Addicting, isn't it? Tetris, I mean. Personally, I wouldn't care to file another mission report in a hundred years. It's so tedious, and nothing ever interesting happens. They won't even let us elaborate. I tried that once, and G sent it back to me, saying that dragons and flying fortresses do not exist, and that my attempt was not appreciated. I wonder what they do for fun. Do they just sit around thinking up missions for us to complete? What will happen when they run out of ideas? I certainly don't want to repeat some of them, some were just so boring, no challenge whatsoever. I hope tha-"br  
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"I'm trying to concentrate here."br  
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"Uh-huh, yeah, on Tetris. Give it up, big boy, you were slacking on the job. I know it and you know it."br  
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Heero raises an eyebrow, "Oh?"br  
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"Anyways, I'm going to get something to eat. You want anything?"br  
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"......"br  
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"I see. Do you want fries with that?" br  
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I wander out to the kitchen, passing through the den where Wufei has been sedated in the sense that Quatre's now sitting on him, with the Chinese boy's arms twisted behind his back. Quatre looks mildly pleased with himself. Wufei's screaming threats, but he's been caught at a disadvantage. I sidle into the kitchen and open the cupboard only to find it bare. The refrigerator is in the same state, with the exception of something questionable in a bowl. I think I saw something in there move. The freezer? Well that's Heero's domain. Having been his roommate for so long, I have learned a don't ask, don't look policy when it comes to the cold domains of the icebox.br  
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I walk to the doorway between the kitchen and the common room.br  
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"Yo! When was the last time anyone went to the grocery store?"br  
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Trowa looks pensive, but then again he always looks pensive, he could be thinking about how quickly he could seduce the next person who walked by for all I know. However, he replies, with no tone of seduction, "Four weeks ago."br  
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"That's pathetic! What have you guys been surviving on."br  
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"Chocolate covered coffee beans," Quatre says bouncing up and down on his poor captive's back. He fishes into his breast pocket and pops another one of the semi-sweet morsels into his mouth. br  
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"That's what HE'S been living on, that onna doesn't share! Let go of me!"br  
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"Not when you act like that."br  
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"When did he start doing that? About an hour ago he seemed normal. Anyways, I for one don't feel like starving here until the next mission comes along. Trowa, is the car still there where you left it?"br  
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The Heavyarms pilot nods, and tosses me the keys. With the warning, "He found one of his stashes in the couch fifteen minutes ago. Don't get caught, Duo. You don't have a valid driver's license."br  
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"He doesn't even have one," Quatre giggles, turning a bright red for no apparent reason. "He's going to catch it, isn't he, Trowa? Bad boys, bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do, watcha gonna do when they come for you? Bad boys, bad boys, bad boys," he sings. br  
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I sigh, and walk out the door, past Wufei who is gnashing his teeth in frustration. I smile, and hope the cabin's still standing when I return. It's a 10 mile walk to where the car is, and I don't look forward to having to carry heavy bags back here through the swampy lands that lie between. br  
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End file.
